Here for you
by Harrypotterchick1
Summary: Tony has an anxiety attack in front of the Avengers, and Bruce and Steve comfort him. Minor spoilers for Iron Man 3


**A/N: Yay! Here I am, writing another Avengers fanfic! Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of the characters. Which is very unfortunate :(**

**Dedication: I dedicate this one to my fried, Lylon. I know I already dedicated one to her, but I have to dedicate this one to her! Fun fact, Tony isn't the only one with anxiety, I have it too. Lylon's the one I always turn to. She comforts me until I am no longer stressed. When I am not having an anxiety attack, she still finds me normal and does not judge who I am because of my difference. She sometimes says "I'm useless" if she doesn't know how to help me exactly, but just being there helps me. Thank you, Lylon! You're amazing in every way!**

**My blabbing is done. Now, here's the story:**

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The Avengers sat around the breakfast table on a July morning. Thor was back in Asguard, so it was just the five of them; Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint.

"I heard Fury wanted to talk to us." The Captain said causally, pouring milk into his bowl of cereal.

"And what is it about, Capsicle?" Tony asked, holding the newspaper in a position that covered half his face. "Have you found you're beloved tin man yet?"

"He's Bucky, and no." Steve sighed, again being irritated by Tony's nickname for his best friend.

"I wonder what it's about…" Natasha said, looking up from buttering her toast. "Is it serious or is he just going to tell us to do some work because he isn't going to pay us to do nothing?"

"Maybe he's going to send us all on a mission!" Clint said, excitedly looking up from pouring a small pack of sugar into his coffee.

"Oh my gosh, yes, please!" Natasha sighed.

"Do you think Loki is up to anything again?" Bruce asked curiously.

"I would hope Thor had control over him." Clint sighed.

"Maybe an alien invasion or something like that!" Natasha said, hopefully.

"That would be great; I would love to have something to do." Steve shrugged.

"Yeah, another alien invasion would be-"

"Tony? Are you okay?" Bruce interrupted Clint, and everyone looked at Tony. The newspaper that was hiding his face was onto the table now, his white fists clutching it with all his might. He was shaking all over, breathing heavily and deeply.

"Tony, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Steve asked, standing up slowly to move to him.

"No…I-I'm not fine, Steven…" Tony gasped for breath, leaning back into his chair.

"What's wrong, Tony…?" Natasha asked, eyes going wide in horror as she watched Tony struggling for air.

"I…I…" Tony looked around the table wildly, looking at the four Avengers staring, concerned and scared for Tony. He couldn't bear them to watch him like he was some caged animal in a zoo any longer.

He stood up quickly, but instantly regretting it. A sharp pain went to his head, but he ignored it. He had to get away from here…right now…

He pushed past Bruce who had rushed to his side, still gasping for air. He ignored Clint's asking once again if he needed ice or water, and ran out of the room.

He ran through the hallway which seemed to go on for miles and miles, and stopped at the corner, clinging onto the corner of the painted wall, letting himself breath. He was alright…he wasn't in the wormhole or on a mission…he wasn't going to lose anyone he loved… he was alright.

Once he finally felt his heart rate go back to a normal speed, he straightened up and looked straight to see Steve and Bruce standing nearby, watching him cautiously, both with their mouths open ajar. Crap, Tony should've known they would be there.

He sighed at the sight of both of them, shaking his head violently before either of them could say anything. "I'm alright now, nothing is wrong with me, I'm alright."

"Tony…what's going on? What are you hiding?" Steve asked slowly. Tony bit his lip. He had not told any of the Avengers that he had anxiety for this very reason. He didn't want them to find him odd, them to see him any differently… well; they were looking at him as if he had another head or two, so he might as well tell them now.

He looked at Bruce. "I told you once a while ago…"

Bruce looked confused, showing in his eyes he was searching for any memory of Tony saying anything to him. "I don't…remember…"

"That time you fell asleep, remember." Tony said annoyed, still slightly bothered at the memory of Bruce falling asleep while he was discussing his troubles and issues to one of his closest friends.

Bruce winced painfully at the memory, guilty that he had not stayed awake through Tony's confession. He gave an apologetic look to Tony, and nodded guiltily for him to continue.

"Well…I found this out a while ago Jarvis." Tony sighed, looking down at the ground. It was so much easier to confess to the floor. "I have an anxiety disorder." He glanced up again see the faces of his two friends. Steve's face immediately fell into understanding and Bruce let out a small gasp but still nodded understandingly.

"Tony…why didn't you tell us?" Steve asked after a while of silence

"I don't know, I just didn't, okay?" Tony snapped, suddenly feeling annoyed and angry, for what reason he may never know. "Maybe because I knew you would react the way you did when I had that panic attack." Tony looked away, disgusted. "You would know I have mental issues."

"Tony…you don't have mental issues." Bruce started.

"Then why did you all act like I did?" Tony yelled.

"Because we didn't know what was going on. Now we know. It makes perfect sense; New York was scary for all of us, but you went into the wormhole-"

"Shut up about the wormhole!" Tony yelled, placing his hands on either side of his face, causing both Steve and Bruce to jump backwards. "…I'm sorry…I don't know what's gotten into me..." Tony lowered his hands, sliding against the wall onto the floor. He felt guilty for yelling and for scaring the crap out of the two of them.

"It's alright, Tony." Steve said, cautiously taking a step closer to him. "It's a sore subject…"

"I just…I hate being the way I am. Why can't I be normal?" Tony said after a moment of silence, talking more to himself than to the other two.

"You are normal. It's alright to have anxiety. Loads of people develop it." Bruce said.

"None of you have it! All of you are normal!" Tony looked up at Steve and Bruce, eyes pleading for something, anything to help him feel like he was normal.

"We're normal? You're kidding right?" Bruce actually burst out laughing, causing Tony to look confused. "Oh, c'mon, no normal person turns into a green, rage monster when they are angry or stressed." Tony was surprised how calm Bruce was talking about it; he was usually so tense on that subject.

"Tony, I'm 95 years old, that's not at all normal." Steve pointed out. "Plus, Thor is half Norse God…"

"And do you really think two ex-assassins are normal?" Bruce asked, walking up to Tony and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Tony, none of us are normal! We're all different in some way or another, it's just the way we are!"

"You aren't alone in this, Tony." Steve said, walking to Tony as well. "We're all here for you whenever you need us to be. We got your back, because that's what a team does for each other."

"You'll never be alone, Tony. We're here for you. You'll never have to face this problem alone; we'll be there supporting you all the way." Bruce said.

"Okay. Thanks, guys…" Tony said, touched but feeling also very awkward. He still wished he wouldn't have this anxiety disorder…it was so hard…so painful…

"Now, c'mon, Nat and Clint are waiting. They're worried and wondering what's taking us so long, probably." Steve chuckled lightly, helping Tony onto his feet.

"Right…" Tony inwardly winced at the fact that he had to explain this once again to two of his teammates. He hated talking about his feelings, anxiety especially. Pepper, his girlfriend, often never asked about it, thankfully. She was always by his side during his nightmares and most of his panic attacks, but respected the fact that he preferred not to talk about it.

As he walked into the room, he saw Natasha and Clint stand up, concern and worry showing on their face. Tony quickly glanced at Steve and Bruce, who were right by his side. He knew he was never alone; he had the best team in the whole world. He smiled a small smile, even though the fact that he would have to explain to Clint and Natasha still lingered over him. He knew right then that he was never going to be alone. Never.

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**A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please rate and review! Thanks, you're awesome!**


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